Kamil Idris’ Views on the European Union’s Efforts to Safeguard Intellectual Property

Professor Kamil Idris is a diplomat, scholar and Intellectual Property Rights activist. He familiarized himself foreign relations at Khartoum University’s foreign law ministry, which later posted him to the United Nations Sudanese office where he acquainted himself more while serving on a special African delegate team for discussing hindrances of technological, environmental and occupational movement of goods between developing states. In addition to obtaining an LLB honorary from Khartoum University, Kamil also has a Ph.D. in international law from The University of Geneva and honorary doctorate law degrees from 19 Universities across the world. He served as the Director General for World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) until 2008. He is the president of the International Court of Arbitration and Mediation and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague.

Kamil Idris is passionate about the protection and promotion of Intellectual Property Rights. He has written some books and publications on this subject. In a post on Medium, professor Kamil attempts to explain modern legislation regarding Intellectual Property. He notes that Intellectual Property laws prompt economic growth. Professor Kamil acknowledges that patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets ate the main kinds of Intellectual Property. In the modern world, Intellectual property is so significant that it has resulted in trade wars between countries like in the case of the United States and China.

Professor Kamil goes further to explain the strategies by the European Union to promote and protect Intellectual Property Rights and its laws concerning Intellectual Property. The European patent Office strives to oversee patent registration across Europe. However, it is limited because Europe has many communication languages and this proves a challenge to translation. The Unified Patent Court was set up to protect registered patents in Europe. This is to help patent owners protect their work from being used as original ideas by people from other countries.

Kamil Idris, while talking to Venture Outsource points out that globalization has obscured national intellectual growth. He defined national legalization as a starting point in determining the consequences of globalization on a specific state’s intellectual growth. He says piracy and the limitless nature of the internet are the most significant challenges facing WIPO. Professor Kamil notes that WIPO is enacting its unique patent data into the internet to regulate infringement. He suggests that a global patent agreement will speed up the patent integration process that is slowed down by the patent imbalance between nations.